An industry immune to disruption is now in the crosshairs of entrepreneurs and the funding spigot is wide open.

The disruptors coalesced into a full-blown tsunami: millennials who demand an instantaneous buying experience and non-traditional products that focus on health benefits rather than mortality and risk, and new external players with lots of capital and knowledge on consumer buying habits.

In what now seems like an overnight race against time, insurance companies are forming “innovation departments” that report directly to the CEO or CIO. Their mission: discover competitive advantage. Their goal: be the first to bring an idea or technology to market that will fundamentally change business processes and propel them to the forefront of a now fast-moving industry.

Innovation departments explore cognitive computing, analytics and artificial intelligence. They are lean, creative think tanks with minimal restrictions on what is in and what is out. Bureaucracy is at a minimum and decisions are made quickly.

If you are a vendor, your current product may suddenly be out of date. If you are a new company, your product may be too “out there” and not practical. But if you are in the middle and can bring real innovation with a practical solution…now that is what this industry is craving.

About the Author: Will loves working with clients to introduce innovative solutions to their organization. This summer he is most looking forward to spending time with family, golfing, grilling, hitting the beach, attending car shows and autocross.